Apparatus for processing information for inventory management of medicine and method therefor

Abstract

According to the present disclosure, a method for processing information by an electronic device is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of: acquiring information of medical treatment performed on a customer; on the basis of the information of the medical treatment, identifying a medicine to be provided to the customer and its quantity to be provided; acquiring one or more pieces of background information for providing the medicine to the customer; acquiring information of one or more inventory groups related to storage of the medicine in a pharmacy; on the basis of the one or more pieces of background information and the information of the one or more inventory groups, determining a quantity of the medicine taken out from at least one group among the one or more inventory groups; and on the basis of the determination, updating the information of the one or more inventory groups.

Description

Device and method for processing information for managing inventory of pharmaceuticals

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a device and method for processing information for managing inventory of pharmaceuticals. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an electronic device and method for identifying a pharmaceutical to be provided to a customer and the quantity thereof based on information about a medical procedure performed on the customer, obtaining one or more background information for providing the pharmaceutical to the customer and information about one or more inventory groups related to the storage of the pharmaceutical in a pharmacy, determining the quantity of pharmaceuticals to be withdrawn from at least one of the one or more inventory groups based on the one or more background information and the information about the one or more inventory groups, and updating the information about the one or more inventory groups based on the determination.

[0002] When a patient receives a prescription from a hospital, they can visit a nearby pharmacy and submit the prescription to receive medication. While medications are dispensed based on the prescription, dispensing medications at a pharmacy often extends beyond simple tasks. For example, to provide the most appropriate medication, a pharmacy may consider various factors, such as the type and quantity of medications currently in stock and the customer's preferred packaging method.

[0003] In the past, skilled personnel would decide on the method of providing medicines by considering various factors. However, this method had limitations, such as requiring skilled personnel and the possibility of not providing medicines in an optimal manner.

[0004] In this regard, reference may be made to prior literature such as KR101674195B1 and KR102297333B1.

[0005] The problem that the present embodiment seeks to solve is to provide an electronic device and a method thereof, which, in order to solve the above-described problem, obtain information on medical treatment performed on a customer, confirm a medicine to be provided to the customer and the quantity thereof based on the information on the medical treatment, obtain one or more background information for providing the medicine to the customer, obtain information on one or more inventory groups related to the storage of the medicine in a pharmacy, determine the quantity of medicine to be taken out for at least one group among the one or more inventory groups based on the one or more background information and the information on the one or more inventory groups, and update information on the one or more inventory groups based on the determination.

[0006] The technical tasks to be achieved by this embodiment are not limited to the technical tasks described above, and other technical tasks can be inferred from the following embodiments.

[0007] A method for processing information in an electronic device according to an embodiment includes the steps of: obtaining information on a medical procedure performed on a customer; confirming a medicine to be provided to the customer and the quantity thereof based on the information on the medical procedure; obtaining one or more background information for providing the medicine to the customer; obtaining information on one or more inventory groups related to the storage of the medicine in a pharmacy; determining a quantity of the medicine to be withdrawn for at least one group among the one or more inventory groups based on the one or more background information and the information on the one or more inventory groups; and updating information on the one or more inventory groups based on the determination.

[0008] According to one embodiment, the step of obtaining information on the one or more inventory groups may include the step of identifying one or more code information associated with the pharmaceutical product; and the step of identifying an inventory group mapped to the one or more code information.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the code information may include at least one of general code information corresponding to the product name of the pharmaceutical product and detailed code information corresponding to the storage unit of the pharmaceutical product.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the detailed code information may be associated with the packaging method of the pharmaceutical product.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the step of determining the quantity of the pharmaceutical to be exported may include the step of determining a packaging method of the pharmaceutical to be provided to the customer.

[0012] In one embodiment, the step of determining a packaging method for the pharmaceutical product to be provided to the customer may include the step of checking historical information related to a method of providing the pharmaceutical product to one or more other customers; and the step of determining an optimal packaging method for the pharmaceutical product to be provided to the customer based on the historical information.

[0013] In one embodiment, the electronic device may determine the optimal packaging method for the pharmaceutical product to be provided to the customer based on artificial intelligence technology.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the artificial intelligence technology may include one or more of a machine-learning-based technology and a deep-learning technology using an artificial neural network.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the step of verifying the history information may include at least one of the steps of acquiring at least one of computerized data of a prescription computerization program and screen printing data of the prescription computerization program; and the steps of acquiring at least one of data related to the operation of an Automatic Tablet Counting and Dispensing (ATC) program and screen printing data of the ATC program.

[0016] According to one embodiment, when acquiring at least one of screen printing data of the prescription computer program and screen printing data of the ATC program to verify the history information, the step of verifying the history information may further include a step of verifying the manner in which the medicine was provided to the at least one other customer by performing image processing on the acquired screen printing information.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the one or more background information may include one or more of information on a provision method indicated by information on the medical practice, information on a provision method set by default for the pharmaceutical, attribute information related to storage of the pharmaceutical, attribute information related to handling of the pharmaceutical, attribute information related to taking the pharmaceutical, attribute information related to interactions between the pharmaceutical and other pharmaceuticals, and information on a packaging method preferred by the customer.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the step of obtaining the one or more background information may include the step of checking memo information corresponding to the medical practice; and the step of checking information on a provision method indicated by the information of the medical practice based on a result of natural language processing of the memo information.

[0019] According to one embodiment, the step of obtaining the one or more background information may include the step of identifying memo information corresponding to the customer; and the step of identifying information on a packaging method preferred by the customer based on a result of natural language processing of the memo information.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the step of obtaining the one or more background information may include the step of confirming prescription history information corresponding to the customer; and the step of confirming information on a packaging method preferred by the customer based on the prescription history information.

[0021] According to one embodiment, the step of confirming the medicine to be provided to the customer and the quantity thereof may include the step of confirming the medicine indicated by the medical practice information; the step of obtaining information on the quantity of stock stored in the pharmacy for the medicine indicated by the medical practice information; and the step of determining the medicine indicated by the medical practice information as the medicine to be provided to the customer if the quantity of stock is sufficient to provide to the customer.

[0022] According to one embodiment, the step of confirming the medicine indicated by the information on the medical practice may include at least one of the steps of confirming which disease classification group the customer's disease belongs to based on disease classification criteria; and the step of confirming which drug classification group the medicine indicated by the information on the medical practice belongs to based on the disease classification criteria.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the electronic device can determine, based on artificial intelligence technology, which pharmaceutical classification group the pharmaceutical indicated by the medical treatment information belongs to.

[0024] According to one embodiment, the artificial intelligence technology may include one or more of a machine learning-based technology and a deep learning technology using an artificial neural network.

[0025] According to one embodiment, the step of confirming the medicine to be provided to the customer and the quantity thereof to be provided may further include the step of confirming one or more candidate medicines based on the information of the medical practice, if the quantity in stock is not sufficient to be provided to the customer; the step of obtaining information on the quantity in stock stored in the pharmacy for at least some of the one or more candidate medicines; and the step of determining a medicine to be provided to the customer from among the one or more candidate medicines based on the information on the quantity in stock of at least some of the one or more candidate medicines.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the step of determining a medicine to be provided to the customer from among the one or more candidate medicines includes the step of determining a priority for providing at least some of the one or more candidate medicines to the customer, and the priority of the one or more candidate medicines may be set based on one or more of whether the medicine is produced by a pharmaceutical company corresponding to a specific medicine indicated by the information of the medical practice, whether the medicine has the same detailed code as the detailed code of the specific medicine, whether the medicine has the same detailed code as a candidate medicine having the highest priority, whether the medicine has the same ingredients as the specific medicine, whether the medicine is determined to have the same efficacy as the specific medicine, whether the medicine is a medicine that the customer has agreed to receive, and whether the medicine is a medicine that the customer has refused to receive.

[0027] According to one embodiment, whether the pharmaceutical product has the same ingredients as the specific pharmaceutical product may include whether the pharmaceutical product has been recognized as equivalent to the specific pharmaceutical product as a result of a bioequivalence test.

[0028] According to one embodiment, the method for processing the information may further include, after providing the medicine to the customer, the step of checking the stock quantity of the medicine corresponding to each of the one or more stock groups; and the step of ordering the medicine if the stock quantity is less than a set threshold quantity.

[0029] According to one embodiment, the electronic device can order the medicine in an amount corresponding to a difference between the appropriate stock quantity of the medicine set for each of the one or more stock groups and the stock quantity of the medicine corresponding to each of the one or more stock groups.

[0030] According to one embodiment, the method for processing the information may further include: obtaining historical information related to the provision of the pharmaceutical; predicting demand for the pharmaceutical based on the historical information in relation to a method of providing the pharmaceutical; and setting an appropriate inventory quantity of the pharmaceutical for each of the one or more inventory groups based on a result of predicting the demand.

[0031] According to one embodiment, the method for processing the information further includes the step of obtaining one or more environmental information related to the pharmacy; and the step of setting an appropriate stock quantity of the medicine based on the one or more environmental information, wherein the one or more environmental information may include one or more of location information of the pharmacy, information on the number of days the pharmacy has been open, information on medical facilities located near the pharmacy, information on space occupied by the pharmacy, information on employees of the pharmacy, financial information related to the operation of the pharmacy, and information on pharmaceutical suppliers transacting with the pharmacy.

[0032] According to one embodiment, the method for processing the information may further include a step of providing a function for setting at least one of the threshold quantity and the appropriate stock quantity.

[0033] According to one embodiment, the method for processing the information may further include, after providing the medicine to the customer, a step of ordering the medicine in the quantity provided to the customer.

[0034] According to one embodiment, the step of obtaining information on the one or more inventory groups may include the step of obtaining image information of the pharmacy; and the step of identifying the one or more inventory groups based on the image information.

[0035] According to one embodiment, the step of identifying the one or more inventory groups may include the step of determining the quantity of a pharmaceutical product belonging to the one or more inventory groups.

[0036] An electronic device for processing information according to an embodiment includes a memory for storing instructions and a processor, wherein the processor is connected to the memory and obtains information on a medical procedure performed on a customer, and, based on the information on the medical procedure, verifies a medicine to be provided to the customer and the quantity thereof to be provided, obtains one or more background information for providing the medicine to the customer, obtains information on one or more inventory groups related to the storage of the medicine in a pharmacy, determines the quantity of the medicine to be taken out for at least one group among the one or more inventory groups based on the one or more background information and the information on the one or more inventory groups, and updates information on the one or more inventory groups based on the determination.

[0037] Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

[0038] According to the present disclosure, a device and method for processing information can provide pharmaceuticals to customers in an optimal manner without the need for skilled personnel.

[0039] In addition, according to the present disclosure, the device and method for processing information can increase the convenience and efficiency of pharmaceutical inventory management.

[0040] The effects of the invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

[0041] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system for processing information according to one embodiment.

[0042] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention to process information to manage inventory of pharmaceuticals.

[0043] Figure 3 is a drawing for exemplarily explaining information on medical practices according to one embodiment.

[0044] FIG. 4 is a screen for exemplarily explaining one or more background information according to one embodiment.

[0045] Figure 5 is a drawing for exemplarily explaining a method of providing a medicine according to one embodiment.

[0046] FIG. 6 is a drawing for exemplarily explaining one or more code information related to a pharmaceutical product according to one embodiment.

[0047] FIG. 7 is a drawing for exemplarily explaining an operation of identifying one or more inventory groups based on image information taken of a pharmacy according to one embodiment.

[0048] FIG. 8 is a drawing for exemplarily explaining a method for determining a vendor from which to order a pharmaceutical product according to one embodiment.

[0049] Figure 9 is an exemplary diagram of the configuration of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0050] The terms used in the embodiments have been selected from widely used and common terms, taking into account the functions of the present disclosure. However, these terms may vary depending on the intentions of those skilled in the art, precedents, the emergence of new technologies, etc. Furthermore, in certain cases, terms may be arbitrarily selected by the applicant, in which case their meanings will be described in detail in the relevant description. Therefore, the terms used in this disclosure should not be defined simply as names of terms, but rather based on the meanings of the terms and the overall content of the present disclosure.

[0051] When a part of the specification is said to "include" a component, this does not exclude other components, but rather implies the inclusion of other components, unless otherwise specifically stated. Furthermore, terms such as "part" and "module" used in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0052] The expression "at least one of a, b, and c" described throughout the specification may encompass 'a alone', 'b alone', 'c alone', 'a and b', 'a and c', 'b and c', or 'all of a, b, and c'.

[0053] The "terminal" mentioned below may be implemented as a computer or portable terminal that can connect to a server or other terminal via a network. Here, the computer includes, for example, a notebook, desktop, laptop, etc. equipped with a web browser, and the portable terminal may include, for example, a wireless communication device that guarantees portability and mobility, and may include all types of handheld-based wireless communication devices such as communication-based terminals such as IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), W-CDMA (W-Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), smartphones, tablet PCs, etc.

[0054] Below, embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0055] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0056] In describing the embodiments, descriptions of technical details that are well-known in the technical field to which the present invention pertains and are not directly related to the present invention will be omitted. This is to avoid obscuring the gist of the present invention by omitting unnecessary explanations and to convey it more clearly.

[0057] For the same reason, some components in the attached drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically depicted. Furthermore, the dimensions of each component do not entirely reflect its actual size. Identical or corresponding components in each drawing are assigned the same reference numbers.

[0058] The advantages and features of the present invention, and the methods for achieving them, will become clearer with reference to the embodiments described in detail below together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms. These embodiments are provided only to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

[0059] At this time, it will be understood that each block of the processing flow diagrams and combinations of the flow diagrams can be performed by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be installed in a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment create a means for performing the functions described in the flow diagram block(s). These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-available or computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement the functions in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-available or computer-readable memory can also produce a manufactured item that includes an instruction means for performing the functions described in the flow diagram block(s). Since the computer program instructions may be installed on a computer or other programmable data processing device, a series of operational steps may be performed on the computer or other programmable data processing device to create a computer-executable process, and the instructions that cause the computer or other programmable data processing device to perform the steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s) may also provide steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0060] Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that contains one or more executable instructions for performing a specific logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementation examples, the functions described in the blocks may occur out of order. For example, two blocks depicted in succession may actually be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on their respective functions.

[0061] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system for processing information according to one embodiment.

[0062] According to various embodiments, a system for processing information includes an electronic device (110). The system for processing information according to one embodiment may further include one or more of a customer terminal (120) and a vendor terminal (130). The system for processing information according to one embodiment may further include a network that supports information transmission and reception among at least some of the electronic device (110), the customer terminal (120), the vendor terminal (130), and external devices.

[0063] The electronic device (110), the customer's terminal (120), and the vendor's terminal (130) of the information processing system may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor. In addition, the electronic device (110), the customer's terminal (120), and the vendor's terminal (130) each mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Meanwhile, throughout the embodiments, the electronic device (110), the customer's terminal (120), and the vendor's terminal (130) are referred to as separate devices and servers, but this may be a logically divided structure, and may be implemented by separate functions in one device or server.

[0064] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110), the customer's terminal (120), and the vendor's terminal (130) may include a plurality of computer systems or computer software implemented as network servers. For example, at least some of the electronic device (110), the customer's terminal (120), and the vendor's terminal (130) may be connected to a lower-level device that can communicate with other network servers via a computer network such as an intranet or the Internet, and may refer to a computer system and computer software that receive a task execution request, perform the task accordingly, and provide the execution result. In addition, at least some of the electronic device (110), the customer's terminal (120), and the vendor's terminal (130) may be understood as a broad concept that includes a series of application programs that can operate on a network server, and various databases built within it. For example, at least some of the electronic device (110), the customer's terminal (120), and the vendor's terminal (130) may be implemented using a network server program provided in various ways according to an operating system such as DOS, Windows, Linux, UNIX, or MacOS.

[0065] Meanwhile, for the convenience of explanation, each operating entity is referred to as an electronic device (110), a customer's terminal (120), and a vendor's terminal (130), but these should be understood as comprehensive devices that correspond to various types of devices such as computer devices and mobile communication terminals, include various types of devices, or can be included in various types of devices.

[0066] The electronic device (110) is a device that acquires and processes various information. Furthermore, the electronic device (110) can also provide various information. The electronic device (110) can perform various tasks to provide pharmaceuticals to customers. Users of the electronic device (110) are those who provide pharmaceuticals to customers, including, but not limited to, pharmacists.

[0067] More specifically, with respect to the operation of the electronic device (110), the electronic device (110) obtains information on a medical procedure performed on a customer, verifies a medicine to be provided to the customer and the quantity thereof based on the information on the medical procedure, obtains one or more background information for providing the medicine to the customer, obtains information on one or more inventory groups related to the storage of the medicine in the pharmacy, determines the quantity of medicine to be withdrawn for at least one group of the one or more inventory groups based on the one or more background information and the information on the one or more inventory groups, and updates information on the one or more inventory groups based on the determination. In this regard, the electronic device (110) may receive information on the medical procedure from the customer's terminal (120), but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the electronic device (110) may order the medicine after providing the medicine to the customer, and for this purpose, may transmit a medicine order request to the vendor's terminal (130), but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0068] A customer may correspond to an entity seeking to receive a pharmaceutical product. The customer's terminal (120) may receive input from the customer or information from an electronic device (110) and perform corresponding actions. For example, the customer's terminal (120) may receive information on a medical procedure from the customer or a medical practitioner (e.g., a doctor) and transmit the information to the electronic device (110). Depending on the embodiment, the customer's terminal (120) may also perform a series of processes for ordering a pharmaceutical product through data transmission and reception with an external device, such as an electronic device (110).

[0069] A vendor may correspond to an entity responsible for at least one aspect of pharmaceutical production and / or pharmaceutical supply. In other words, the vendor can be broadly understood to include pharmaceutical manufacturers (and producers), professional distributors (and commissioned professional distributors) contracted by manufacturers, and pharmaceutical wholesalers. "Supply of pharmaceutical products" may refer to the provision of pharmaceutical products to the ultimate provider of pharmaceutical products to customers (e.g., users of electronic devices (110)). However, vendors are not limited to providing pharmaceutical products to such parties. For example, in some embodiments, vendors may directly supply pharmaceutical products to customers.

[0070] The vendor's terminal (130) may receive input from the vendor or the like, or receive information from the electronic device (110) or the like, and perform corresponding actions. For example, the vendor's terminal (130) may receive pharmaceutical production information from the vendor and transmit it to the electronic device (110). In addition, the vendor's terminal (130) may receive pharmaceutical order request information from the electronic device (110) and transmit it to the vendor or generate information instructing pharmaceutical production.

[0071] More detailed information regarding the electronic device (110), the customer's terminal (120), and the vendor's terminal (130) will be described later in FIGS. 2 to 7, etc.

[0072] The operations associated with a series of information provision methods according to various embodiments may be implemented by a single physical device, or may be implemented by organically combining multiple physical devices. For example, some components included in an information processing system may be implemented by a single physical device, while others may be implemented by other physical devices. For example, one physical device may be implemented as part of an electronic device (110), while another physical device may be implemented as part of a customer's terminal (120), a vendor's terminal (130), or another external device.

[0073] In some cases, each component included in the information processing system may be distributed and placed on different physical devices, and the distributed components may be organically combined to perform the functions and operations of the information processing system. For example, the electronic device (110) of the present specification may include at least one sub-device, and some of the operations described as being performed by the electronic device (110) may be performed by the first sub-unit, and other some operations may be performed by the second sub-unit.

[0074] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention to process information to manage inventory of pharmaceuticals.

[0075] Referring to FIG. 2, an electronic device (110) according to one embodiment acquires information on medical procedures performed on a customer (201). The medical procedure information according to one embodiment may include one or more of the customer's symptoms, the customer's disease, and the treatment performed on the customer. The medical procedure information according to one embodiment may include instructions or suggestions regarding medications to be provided to the customer. Furthermore, the medical procedure information may include various types of information that serve as the basis for providing medications to the customer, and a specific type of information does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0076] An example related to information regarding a medical procedure is illustrated in FIG. 3. Referring further to FIG. 3, information regarding a medical procedure according to an embodiment may include prescription information such as drawing number 310. The prescription information may include one or more of disease classification symbol information, name information of a prescription drug, and quantity information of the prescription drug. The name information of the prescription drug may include dosage information of the prescription drug. In addition, the quantity information of the prescription drug may include information regarding the dosage, number of administrations, and number of days of administration. However, this is only one embodiment of the present disclosure, and depending on the embodiment, information regarding the "total dose" to be provided to the patient may be included in the prescription information, or information regarding dosage and total dosage may be included in the prescription information, and various embodiments related to the present disclosure may exist.

[0077] In addition, information on medical practice according to an embodiment may include processed information such as drawing number 320. In relation to this, information on medical practice according to an embodiment may include information such as drug code (321), drug name (322), drug quantity (323), insurance coverage (324), drug price (325), drug type (326), and total amount (327). As described above with respect to information on quantity of prescription drugs, drug quantity (323) may include information on a single dose, number of administrations, number of days of administration, etc., and depending on the embodiment, may further include total administration information determined based on at least one of the dose, number of administrations, and number of days of administration for each drug.

[0078] Meanwhile, the "medical treatment information" acquired by the electronic device (110) may include, but is not limited to, processed text information. For example, the "medical treatment information" acquired by the electronic device (110) may include image information of a prescription, electronic prescription information, or other various electronic information corresponding to a prescription.

[0079] Returning to FIG. 2, the electronic device (110) confirms the medication to be provided to the customer and the quantity thereof based on the medical treatment information (202). According to one embodiment, the medical treatment information may indicate (or suggest, hereinafter referred to as "instruction" for convenience of explanation) one or more of the medications to be provided to the customer and the quantity thereof. According to one embodiment, the medical treatment information may also include medication guidance information related to the customer's medication administration. However, the electronic device (110) is not required to confirm the medication and quantity thereof to be provided to the customer as indicated by the medical treatment information, or to provide the medication in accordance with the medication guidance information.

[0080] In one embodiment, the electronic device (110) may identify a medicine indicated by medical practice information and obtain information on the quantity of medicines stored in a pharmacy for the medicines indicated by the medical practice information. If the quantity in stock is sufficient to provide to the customer, the electronic device (110) may determine the medicine indicated by the medical practice information as the medicine to be provided to the customer. On the other hand, if the quantity in stock is not sufficient to provide to the customer, the electronic device (110) may identify one or more candidate medicines based on the medical practice information, obtain information on the quantity in stock stored in a pharmacy for at least some of the one or more candidate medicines, and determine which of the one or more candidate medicines to provide to the customer based on the information on the quantity in stock of at least some of the one or more candidate medicines.

[0081] As a specific example, if the medical practice information instructs to provide a total of 50 tablets of the drug "AAA" but the total number of tablets in stock kept in the pharmacy is only 30, the electronic device (110) can identify candidate drugs BBB, CCC, and DDD based on the medical practice information (assuming that BBB, CCC, and DDD have high priorities in that order). Under this situation, if the appropriate number of BBB tablets, 150 tablets for CCC, and 25 tablets for DDD, which can be expected to have the same efficacy as 50 tablets of AAA, and the number of tablets in stock kept in the pharmacy is 70 tablets of BBB, 200 tablets of CCC, and 120 tablets of DDD, respectively, then BBB may be excluded because of insufficient stock, and CCC, which has a higher priority among CCC and DDD, which have sufficient stock, may be decided to be provided to the customer.

[0082] In relation to the above example, if CCC and DDD are also out of stock, the electronic device (110) can further identify other drugs with lower priority as candidate drugs, urgently order the drugs from a channel that can supply the drugs immediately if there is one, or guide the customer to another pharmacy that has sufficient stock, etc., and various embodiments may exist in relation thereto, and a specific embodiment does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0083] Meanwhile, as will be described later, candidate drug BBB may include cases where the product name is the same as drug AAA but the packaging unit is different. For example, if medical practice information instructs to provide a total of 50 tablets of "AAA," a drug packaged in cellophane, but the pharmacy only has 30 tablets in stock, the electronic device (110) can, based on the medical practice information, identify candidate drug BBB, which has the same product name as drug AAA but is packaged in a medicine bottle. If the pharmacy has 100 tablets of candidate drug BBB in stock, the electronic device (110) can decide to provide the customer with candidate drug BBB.

[0084] Meanwhile, the inventory quantity stored in a pharmacy may correspond to the sum of the quantities of pharmaceuticals included in each of the "one or more inventory groups" described below. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to this. For example, in some embodiments, the sum of the quantities of pharmaceuticals included in the remaining inventory groups, excluding some inventory groups, may be identified as the inventory quantity stored in the pharmacy.

[0085] In order to confirm the medicine indicated by the medical practice information, the electronic device (110) according to one embodiment can confirm which disease classification group the customer's disease (which can be interpreted in a broad sense including various diagnostic results) belongs to based on disease classification criteria, and can confirm which drug classification group the medicine indicated by the medical practice information belongs to based on the disease classification criteria. In relation to this, depending on the embodiment, the electronic device (110) can also confirm which drug classification group the medicine indicated by the medical practice information belongs to based on artificial intelligence technology. In relation to this, the artificial intelligence technology may include one or more of a technology based on machine learning and a deep learning technology using an artificial neural network.

[0086] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) may determine a priority for providing at least some of one or more candidate drugs to the customer (for example, a priority among candidate drugs BBB, CCC, and DDD in the above-described example), and determine a drug to be provided to the customer based on the determined priority. In this regard, the priority of one or more candidate drugs according to one embodiment may be set based on one or more of the following factors: whether the drug is produced by a pharmaceutical company corresponding to a specific drug indicated by medical practice information; whether the drug has a detailed code identical to (or related to) the detailed code of the specific drug; whether the drug has the same detailed code as a candidate drug with the highest priority; whether the drug has the same ingredients as the specific drug; whether the drug is determined to have the same efficacy as the specific drug; whether the drug is agreed to be provided by the customer; and whether the drug is refused to be provided by the customer. Depending on the embodiment, various other factors may be taken into consideration. As a more specific example, in determining the priority among one or more candidate drugs, the rule for setting priorities may be that the candidate drug BBB produced by the pharmaceutical company corresponding to the drug AAA indicated by the information of the medical practice (e.g., explicitly prescribed in the prescription) (e.g., there may be various examples such as cases where the product name is the same as AAA but the packaging unit is different, or cases where the product name and packaging unit are both the same as AAA but the supplier is not a preset vendor) has the highest priority, the candidate drug CCC with the same or related detailed code as AAA has the next highest priority, the candidate drug DDD with the same ingredients as AAA has the next highest priority, EEE and FFF, which are determined to have the same efficacy as AAA (although not the same ingredients), have the next highest priority, and the other candidate drugs have the next highest priority.On the one hand, despite these rules, a candidate drug that the customer has explicitly agreed to receive may be given a higher priority than would be given under those rules, and a drug that the customer has refused to receive may be given the lowest priority despite the rules.

[0087] Depending on the embodiment, priority rules may be set in more detail than the above example. For example, even within each priority according to the aforementioned rules, a candidate drug supplied from a pre-established vendor may have a relatively higher priority, while a candidate drug supplied from another vendor (e.g., due to insufficient production capacity or insufficient current inventory from the pre-established vendor) may have a relatively lower priority. As another example, with regard to candidate drugs with the same ingredients as a specific drug, a candidate drug that has passed a bioequivalence test and has been released after being notified may have a relatively higher priority, while a candidate drug with the same ingredients that has been released pursuant to prior consent may have a relatively lower priority. Meanwhile, a candidate drug that has "passed a bioequivalence test" may be understood as a drug that has been recognized as equivalent to a specific drug based on the results of the bioequivalence test, and such equivalence may be understood to include "bioequivalence."

[0088] In addition, there are various embodiments for determining priority between one or more candidate drugs, and no particular embodiment limits the scope of the present disclosure.

[0089] The electronic device (110) acquires one or more background information for providing a pharmaceutical to a customer (203). The one or more background information may include one or more of the following: information on the method of provision indicated by medical practice information, information on the method of provision set by default for the pharmaceutical, attribute information related to the handling of the pharmaceutical, attribute information related to the storage of the pharmaceutical, attribute information related to the administration of the pharmaceutical, attribute information related to the interaction between the pharmaceutical and other pharmaceuticals, and information on the packaging method preferred by the customer. Depending on the embodiment, various other factors may also be considered. In this regard, the "provision method" may include, but is not limited to, the packaging method of the pharmaceutical, and may also include various methods such as whether or not to administer the pharmaceutical orally, the single dose, and the administration cycle, depending on the embodiment.

[0090] In one embodiment, "specialty information" included in medical practice information may be considered to determine the method of drug provision. While a single drug is not necessarily prescribed for a single purpose, considering the specialty can more accurately determine the purpose for which the drug is prescribed. For example, non-steroidal antipyretics and anti-inflammatory analgesics are often prescribed for anti-inflammatory and analgesic purposes in orthopedics and dermatology, whereas they are often prescribed for simple fever reduction or antipyretic and anti-inflammatory analgesic purposes in otolaryngology and internal medicine. Therefore, considering the specialty can more accurately determine the purpose of the drug prescription.

[0091] In one embodiment, "prescription information" included in medical practice information may be considered to determine the method of drug provision. In this regard, prescribers can secure the standards and basis for medical practice based on supporting data such as clinical guidelines or textbooks provided by academic societies for each specialty, so the specific content of the prescription may vary depending on which supporting data is used. Furthermore, each prescription may have different preferred ingredients, preferred pharmaceutical companies, and preferred delivery methods among drugs of the same level that can be prescribed. For example, when a patient with a headache visits, some doctors may prescribe ibuprofen, while others may prescribe naproxen (which can be expected to have the same efficacy as ibuprofen). Furthermore, among doctors prescribing naproxen, some may prefer to prescribe Anaprox tablets from pharmaceutical company X, while others may prefer to prescribe Naxen from pharmaceutical company Y. Furthermore, for the same drug, Naxen, Doctor A may prefer to take it before a meal, while Doctor B may prefer to take it after a meal.

[0092] Since the specific contents of a prescription may vary depending on the prescribing doctor, the method of providing the drug can be more appropriately determined by considering the information in the prescription.

[0093] A more detailed example relating to one or more pieces of background information is illustrated in FIG. 4. Referring further to FIG. 4, the one or more pieces of background information according to one embodiment may include one or more of a prescription history (401), a packaging method that may correspond to the drug product (402), a packaging method of the drug product available at the pharmacy (403), the need for separate manufacturing (404), and customer preferences (405).

[0094] The prescription history (401) may include the customer's past prescription history, and depending on the embodiment, may also include the past prescription history of other customers related to the medicine to be provided to the customer this time. The packaging method (402) that can be applied to the medicine may include one or more of the provision method indicated by the medical practice information (e.g., the packaging method specified in the prescription) and the provision method set by default for the medicine (e.g., the packaging method applied by default when there is no separate instruction). The packaging method (403) of the medicine that can be provided at the pharmacy may be background information for considering the packaging form that is not realistically possible to provide when considering environmental factors such as the size and equipment of the pharmacy. The necessity of separate manufacturing (including separate preparation) (404) may be information reflecting precautions for handling pharmaceuticals (e.g., whether the pharmaceutical is a hazardous drug as defined by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), whether the pharmaceutical is a pharmaceutical that cannot be prepared in an environment where direct contact or washing occurs, etc.), properties related to pharmaceutical storage (e.g., how resistant it is to moisture, heat, light, etc., whether it may deteriorate when in contact with other pharmaceuticals, etc.), precautions for taking pharmaceuticals (e.g., recommended dosing time, recommended dosing frequency, precautions related to medication compliance, whether side effects are expected if a certain dose is exceeded at one time), precautions related to interactions between pharmaceuticals and other pharmaceuticals (e.g., whether side effects are expected if administered together with other pharmaceuticals), etc. Customer preference (405) may include information such as which packaging method the customer prefers, and depending on the embodiment, may also include information on customer preference from a medical perspective such as the customer's medication compliance.

[0095] Returning to FIG. 2, according to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) may verify memo information corresponding to a medical procedure, and, based on the result of natural language processing of the verified memo information, may verify information on the provision method indicated by the medical procedure information. According to another embodiment, the electronic device (110) may verify memo information corresponding to a customer, and, based on the result of natural language processing of the verified memo information, may verify information on the packaging method preferred by the customer. In relation to embodiments that utilize the result of natural language processing, “natural language processing” may be understood as a broad concept that may include one or more of a process of recognizing text included in the memo information and a process of understanding the content of the memo based on the recognized text (e.g., understanding information on the provision method indicated by the medical procedure information or understanding the packaging method preferred by the customer). For example, if the memo information corresponds to image information that captures a memo corresponding to a medical procedure, the electronic device (110) may recognize an image included in the image information, verify text included in the image, and, based on the name of the disease and the contents of the prescription included in the text, verify information on the provision method indicated by the medical procedure information. As another example, if the memo information corresponds to image information of a memo corresponding to a customer, the electronic device (110) can recognize the image included in the image information, check the text included in the image, and check information on the packaging method preferred by the customer based on whether the text includes expressions such as “bottle,” “medicine box,” “individual packaging,” “cellophane packaging,” or “blister packaging.”

[0096] Medical note information corresponding to a medical procedure may include, but is not necessarily limited to, notes written by a prescriber. For example, medical note information corresponding to a medical procedure may include notes written by a nurse, notes written by a patient following oral instructions from a prescriber, etc. Medical note information corresponding to a medical procedure may include various types of information, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to any specific type of information.

[0097] The note information corresponding to the customer may include information on medical procedures (e.g., note information written by a doctor on a prescription), information on notes separately written by the customer and provided to the pharmacy, or information on notes written by receiving the customer's speech. The note information corresponding to the customer may include various types of information, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to a specific type of information.

[0098] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) can verify prescription history information corresponding to the customer and, based on the verified prescription history information, determine information regarding the customer's preferred packaging method. The prescription history information may include one or more of medical practice history information and pharmaceutical purchase history information, and may further include various types of information depending on the embodiment.

[0099] More specifically, the history information of medical treatment according to an embodiment may include one or more of information recording the customer's past symptoms, information diagnosing a disease related to the customer's past symptoms, and information on treatment performed on the customer related to the customer's past symptoms. Meanwhile, the history information of medicine purchase according to an embodiment may include information on the customer purchasing medicine at the pharmacy using the electronic device (110), and depending on the embodiment, may further include information on the customer purchasing medicine at another pharmacy, or may further include information on the customer purchasing medicine through a channel other than the pharmacy (e.g., mail order and internet sales).

[0100] As a more specific example related to checking the customer's preferred packaging method based on prescription history information, if the customer has visited the hospital several times in the past due to chest tightness symptoms and has been diagnosed with asthma, the electronic device (110) may determine that the customer is an asthma patient by referring to the past history even if it is somewhat uncertain to determine the customer's diagnosis based on the medical treatment details alone, and may provide a rapid reliever to alleviate cough symptoms. In addition, if the customer's preferred packaging method for asthma medication is "all together packaging" based on the past history, the electronic device may determine that the customer will prefer to receive the medication "all together packaging" this time as well when visiting the pharmacy after being prescribed diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia medication, and may provide the diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia medication "all together packaging" as well.

[0101] In one embodiment, taking into account medical practice history information, the electronic device (110) may determine whether a specific medication has been prescribed more than a threshold number of times over a past period of time. In related embodiments, the electronic device (110) may also determine whether a specific medication has been provided "in a specific packaging format" more than a threshold number of times over a past period of time. For example, the electronic device (110) may determine whether a specific medication has been prescribed more than three times over the past three months, or whether a specific medication has been provided in a specific packaging format more than three times over the past three months.

[0102] Meanwhile, in the above-described embodiments, "the case of confirming information on the packaging method preferred by the customer" was mainly described, but in addition, when obtaining other types of background information, the result of natural language processing on the memo information may be used (it has already been described above that the result of natural language processing may be used when confirming information on the provision method indicated by the medical practice information) or the prescription history information corresponding to the customer may be used. Therefore, the reason for using the result of natural language processing in the present disclosure and the reason for using the prescription history information corresponding to the customer are not limited to "to confirm information on the packaging method preferred by the customer." For example, the result of natural language processing in the present disclosure may also be used to confirm the method of taking the medicine (e.g., the time of day at which the medicine is taken). As a more specific example, in the case of dementia medication that is generally recommended to be taken before bed, the patient may wish to take it together with other medications in the morning due to the patient's condition and the convenience of management by the caregiver, and if a memo with such content is confirmed, the method of taking the medicine may be determined by taking it into consideration.

[0103] Specific examples of pharmaceutical provision methods are illustrated in Fig. 5 (500). Referring further to Fig. 5, examples of pharmaceutical provision methods related to the "packaging method" (including storage method) are illustrated. Specifically, example (a) corresponds to a method of individually packaging pharmaceuticals in units of single-dose dosages using cellophane packaging, example (b) corresponds to a PTP (Press-Through-Pack) packaging method in which multiple pharmaceuticals are packaged as a single unit but have a convex structure on one side so that only the amount to be used at a time can be opened and used, and example (c) corresponds to a method of storing multiple pharmaceuticals in a medicine bottle. In the following description, the expression "packaging method" may be understood to include packaging methods or storage methods such as the examples in Fig. 5. However, it should be understood that the "packaging method" in the above or below description is not limited to the examples in Fig. 5, and may include various packaging or storage methods in addition to the examples in Fig. 5. For example, in addition to the examples of FIG. 5, blister packaging methods and the like may further fall within the “packaging method” of the present disclosure.

[0104] Returning to FIG. 2, the electronic device (110) obtains information on one or more inventory groups related to the pharmaceuticals stored in the pharmacy (204). According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) can identify one or more code information associated with the pharmaceuticals and identify inventory groups mapped to one or more pieces of code information. The code information need not necessarily be composed of an array of numbers, but may instead be composed of a combination of numbers and letters, or may even include special characters. Various embodiments exist regarding its configuration.

[0105] In one embodiment, the code information may include more comprehensive general code information and detailed code information for more detailed classification. In one embodiment, the general code information may correspond to the product name of the pharmaceutical product, and the detailed code information may correspond to an inventory group. In other words, even the same pharmaceutical product may be stored in a pharmacy in multiple different inventory groups, each of which may be assigned different detailed code information. It should be noted that the different inventory groups do not necessarily need to be physically separated; rather, they are conceptually separated to enhance inventory management efficiency.

[0106] An example of one or more code information associated with a pharmaceutical product is illustrated in FIG. 6. Referring further to FIG. 6, a general code X may be associated with a specific pharmaceutical product AAA (610), a detailed code x may be associated with a specific group among the inventory groups of AAA that currently stores 50 tablets (611), and a detailed code y may be associated with a specific group among the inventory groups of AAA that currently stores 50 tablets (612). That is, the inventory group mapped to [X, x] may be a group that currently stores 50 tablets of AAA, and the inventory group mapped to [X, y] may be a group that currently stores 500 tablets of AAA.

[0107] As a more specific example related to the detail code, the detail code information according to an example may correspond to a storage unit (e.g., storage specification) of a pharmaceutical product. In the example of Fig. 6, detail code x may correspond to a storage unit of 50 tablets (611), and detail code y may correspond to a packaging unit of 500 tablets (612). However, this is merely exemplary, and each detail code does not necessarily have to correspond to a storage unit. For example, in the example of Fig. 6, although the inventory group corresponding to detail code x currently has 50 AAA tablets in stock and the inventory group corresponding to detail code y currently has 500 AAA tablets in stock, such inventory may change at any time as AAA is received or shipped from each group, and may not be related to the identity of the inventory group corresponding to each detail code.

[0108] Returning to FIG. 2, the detailed code information according to an embodiment may also be associated with a packaging method. For example, for detailed codes x and y related to pharmaceutical product AAA, detailed code x may be associated with a method of packaging the pharmaceutical product in a medicine bottle, and detailed code y may be associated with a method of packaging the pharmaceutical product in a cellophane wrapper. In such an example, when providing pharmaceutical product AAA to a customer, if the pharmaceutical product is to be packaged and provided in a medicine bottle, the electronic device (110) may export the pharmaceutical product from a group of detailed codes x, and if the pharmaceutical product is to be packaged and provided in a cellophane wrapper, the electronic device (110) may export the pharmaceutical product from a group of detailed codes y.

[0109] Even when the detailed code information is related to the packaging method, the packaging method of the drug may not necessarily follow the detailed code information. For example, even if the detailed code x is related to the method of packaging the drug in a medicine bottle, the drug may be exported from the group of detailed code x in order to be packaged and provided in cellophane wrappers (for example, when the group of detailed code y, which is related to the method of packaging the drug in cellophane wrappers, is out of stock).

[0110] Furthermore, depending on the embodiment, some detailed code information may not be associated with a specific packaging method or storage unit. For example, some detailed code information may be reserved inventory or bulk inventory, set to be available for export for all types of orders. Thus, various embodiments may exist regarding the specific method of setting detailed codes.

[0111] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) can acquire image information of a pharmacy and identify one or more inventory groups based on the acquired image information, thereby acquiring information about one or more inventory groups. The image information of the pharmacy may include one or more of static image information and video information.

[0112] An example of image information captured in a pharmacy is illustrated in FIG. 7. Referring further to FIG. 7 (700), an electronic device (110) can identify a medicine cabinet and medicines stored therein based on the image information. In one example, the electronic device (110) can determine the size of the medicine cabinet based on the size information of the medicines, and can identify one or more inventory groups. It should be understood that the act of "identifying inventory groups" may include not only identifying the existence of inventory groups, but also specifically confirming the quantity of medicines belonging to each inventory group.

[0113] In a more specific example, the electronic device (110) may calculate the size of the medicine container based on the size information of the medicine that has been previously identified and the relative ratio between the size of the medicine and the size of the medicine container in the image information. In this regard, depending on the embodiment, the electronic device (110) may calculate the size of a medicine whose size has not been identified (or has been incorrectly identified) based on the relative ratio based on one or more of the sizes of the medicine and the medicine container that have been previously identified, and may update the calculated size information of the medicine. In some embodiments, the electronic device (110) may also share the updated size information of the medicine with other users.

[0114] Additionally, the electronic device (110) may identify one or more inventory groups based on the size of the medicine cabinet, and may further determine one or more of the storage method (e.g., but not limited to, a stack of medicines, a plastic container containing medicines, a paper box containing medicines, etc.) and the size thereof, depending on the embodiment.

[0115] In some embodiments, the electronic device (110) may digitize pharmaceutical product images and utilize them for pharmacy inventory management. The pharmaceutical product images may include, but are not limited to, one or more of a product image provided by a pharmaceutical company, a flattened label image of the pharmaceutical product, and an pharmaceutical product image extracted from each pharmacy or customer. As an example of utilizing the images for pharmacy inventory management, the electronic device (110) may identify an inventory group based on one or more of a method for identifying a unique value included in an image label, a method for identifying characters included in an image, a method for determining similarity between an image and another image, and a method for utilizing size information of an image, and various embodiments may exist, such as utilizing deep learning technology in relation to at least some of the methods.

[0116] In addition, depending on the embodiment, there may be various embodiments that utilize image information taken of a pharmacy, such as the electronic device (110) being able to further determine whether storage is appropriate through 3D modeling for each inventory group.

[0117] Meanwhile, the aforementioned “size” may be understood to include at least one of the length, width, and height, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0118] Returning to FIG. 2 again, for convenience of explanation, in FIG. 2, the operation of drawing number 204 for obtaining information on one or more inventory groups is described as being performed after the operation of drawing number 203 for obtaining one or more background information. However, in the present disclosure, the operation of drawing number 203 does not have to be performed before the operation of drawing number 204. Accordingly, the operation of drawing number 203 may be performed simultaneously with the operation of drawing number 204, or the operation of drawing number 203 may be performed after the operation of drawing number 204, and various other embodiments may fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0119] Based on one or more background information and one or more inventory groups, the electronic device (110) determines the quantity of medicines to be shipped for at least one of the one or more inventory groups (205). In one embodiment, the act of determining the quantity of medicines to be shipped may include the act of determining the packaging method of the medicines to be shipped to the customer.

[0120] According to an example of the operation of drawing number 205, the electronic device (110) can determine whether the customer intends to make a subsequent visit and, if so, when the subsequent visit is scheduled. Based on this, the electronic device can determine the quantity of medication to be provided to the customer. For example, if the customer does not intend to make a subsequent visit, the electronic device can determine to provide a quantity of medication sufficient for 180 days. If the customer intends to make a subsequent visit and the subsequent visit is scheduled in three months, the electronic device can determine to provide a quantity of medication sufficient for 90 days.

[0121] In addition, if the customer intends to visit again and the scheduled visit date is 3 months later, the electronic device (110) can automatically order medicine (if the stock quantity is already secured, keep the stock so that it is not provided to others) even without a separate instruction from the customer when the due date that satisfies the set condition (e.g., 7 days before the 90-day period, or after the 83-day period) is reached, and the electronic device (110) can consider whether the customer intends to visit again and the scheduled visit date in ordering medicine and managing inventory.

[0122] According to one example, the electronic device (110) may determine whether the quantity to be provided to the customer exceeds a threshold quantity, and if not, package all medicines according to the first packaging method, while if the quantity exceeds the threshold quantity, package only the threshold quantity according to the first packaging method and package only the quantity exceeding the threshold quantity according to the second packaging method. The threshold quantity may be a quantity set to determine, for example, whether the customer's usage per unit of a certain period (e.g., weekly unit) exceeds a certain ratio (e.g., 3 times) of the minimum packaging unit.

[0123] In this regard, there may be various examples, such as the first packaging method being a packaging method preferred by the customer, a packaging method matching the essential properties of the pharmaceutical, or a packaging method associated with a stock group with a high priority for delivery from the current pharmacy (e.g., a stock group with a short shelf life remaining for the currently stored pharmaceutical), and at least some examples may be combined to determine the first packaging method, and in this regard, a specific embodiment does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0124] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) may verify historical information related to how the medicine was provided to one or more other customers and determine the optimal packaging method for the medicine to be provided to the customer based on the verified historical information. In this regard, the electronic device (110) may also determine the optimal packaging method for the medicine to be provided to the customer based on artificial intelligence technology. In this regard, the artificial intelligence technology may include one or more of machine learning-based technology and deep learning technology utilizing artificial neural networks.

[0125] According to an example, an electronic device (110) can obtain at least one of computerized data of a prescription computerization program and screen printing data of the prescription computerization program to check historical information related to the manner in which medicines were provided to one or more other customers. According to an example, an electronic device (110) can also obtain at least one of data related to the operation of an Automatic Tablet Counting and Dispensing (ATC) program and screen printing data of the ATC program to check historical information related to the manner in which medicines were provided to one or more other customers. In this regard, the ATC program can be understood as a concept encompassing an Automatic Tablet Dispensing & Packaging System (ATDPS) program.

[0126] Meanwhile, when the electronic device (110) acquires screen printing data (e.g., screen printing data of a prescription computer program and screen printing data of an ATC program) to confirm history information, the electronic device (110) may perform image processing on the acquired screen printing information to confirm how the medicine was provided to one or more other customers.

[0127] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) may determine how much of a medicine to remove from which inventory group based on code information associated with one or more inventory groups. For example, based on the storage unit or packaging method of the medicine to which the code information is associated, the electronic device (110) may determine how much of a medicine to remove from which inventory group (for example, when providing medicine to a customer in cellophane packaging, priority is given to removing medicine from an inventory group having code information associated with the cellophane packaging method). However, the determination of how much of a medicine to remove from which inventory group is not necessarily based solely on code information corresponding to the inventory group or the storage unit or packaging method associated with the inventory group. For example, in determining the quantity of medicines to be withdrawn for at least one group among one or more inventory groups, the electronic device (110) may further consider the quantity of medicines stored for each inventory group, may further consider the status of the inventory for each inventory group (e.g., remaining expiration date), may further consider the location of each inventory group (e.g., whether it is in a location that is easy to withdrawn, or whether it is in a location adjacent to another inventory group that stores other medicines that must be provided together), may further consider a previous medicine withdrawn method (or packaging method) according to the dispensing data of a program currently being used in the pharmacy (e.g., ATDPS program), and so on, and various other embodiments may exist.

[0128] The medicine may be provided to the customer based on the quantity determined by the electronic device (110). Meanwhile, with respect to a specific method of providing the medicine to the customer, the electronic device (110) may provide the user with the medicine by providing the determined quantity to the user (e.g., displaying it on a screen), the electronic device (110) may transmit the determined quantity to a medicine preparation device to enable preparation of the medicine, and the electronic device (110) may further perform the role of preparing the medicine so that preparation of the medicine may proceed automatically based on the determined quantity without the need to transmit it to a separate external device. Various embodiments may exist, and a specific embodiment does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0129] Based on determining the quantity of medicines to be withdrawn for at least one of the one or more inventory groups, the electronic device (110) updates information about the one or more inventory groups (206). The act of updating information about the inventory groups may be understood to include an act of updating and recording the remaining inventory quantity of medicines for at least one group after the medicines are withdrawn.

[0130] An electronic device (110) according to one embodiment can order medicine (207). The medicine order request may be transmitted to the vendor's terminal (130), but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Various other embodiments may exist, such as ordering medicine by meeting the vendor in person or through a phone call.

[0131] According to one embodiment, after providing medicine to a customer, the electronic device (110) can check the stock quantity of the corresponding medicine for each of one or more stock groups (in some embodiments, the total stock quantity may be determined directly without checking the stock quantity by stock group). If the stock quantity is less than a set threshold quantity, the electronic device (110) can order the medicine. Meanwhile, the operation of ordering the medicine may include, but is not limited to, an operation in which the electronic device (110) directly transmits an order request to a vendor's terminal (130), and may include various embodiments, such as an indirect operation such as providing the user with information suggesting a medicine order so that the user can order the medicine.

[0132] Depending on the embodiment, there may be various embodiments, such as the ordering of medicines from the electronic device (110) being linked with an application installed in the vendor's terminal (130), and automatically performing preparation and delivery of the medicines.

[0133] According to one embodiment, if the stock quantity is less than the set threshold quantity, the electronic device (110) may order the medicine in an amount corresponding to the difference between the appropriate stock quantity of the medicine set for each of one or more stock groups and the stock quantity of the corresponding medicine for each of one or more stock groups. For example, if the appropriate stock quantity set for a specific stock group is 500 and the minimum stock quantity is 300, and the stock quantity corresponding to the group is 220, the electronic device (110) may order the medicine because the stock quantity is less than the minimum stock quantity, and the order quantity of the medicine may be 280, which is obtained by subtracting the stock quantity corresponding to the group by 220 from the appropriate stock quantity of 500.

[0134] An electronic device (110) according to one embodiment may also set an appropriate inventory quantity for each of one or more inventory groups. In this regard, according to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) may obtain history information related to the provision of pharmaceuticals, predict demand for pharmaceuticals based on the history information in relation to the method of providing the pharmaceuticals, and set an appropriate inventory quantity for each of one or more inventory groups based on the predicted demand. For example, the electronic device (110) may predict demand for diseases with a significant increase in demand during specific periods, such as seasonal or infectious diseases, based on history information. As another example, the electronic device (110) may predict demand for pharmaceuticals for chronic diseases by determining the expected timing of the next visit based on the customer's past visit history information. As another example, the electronic device (110) may predict demand for pharmaceuticals based on various historical information, such as calendar data, weather data, and infectiousness data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[0135] Historical information is not necessarily limited to the specific drug used to determine the appropriate inventory quantity. For example, if another drug with a similar efficacy to drug AAA, which is used to determine the appropriate inventory quantity, experienced a significant increase in demand at a specific time in the past, the electronic device (110) can refer to such history to determine the appropriate inventory quantity for drug AAA. This can be particularly useful when historical information related to the drug is insufficient to determine the appropriate inventory quantity (e.g., in the case of a newly launched product).

[0136] Meanwhile, for demand forecasting, the electronic device (110) can use various types of mathematical models, such as a normal distribution model or a linear function model.

[0137] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) may acquire one or more pieces of environmental information related to the pharmacy and set an appropriate stock quantity of medicine based on the acquired one or more pieces of environmental information. The one or more pieces of environmental information may include one or more of the following: location information of the pharmacy, number of days the pharmacy has been open, information on medical facilities located near the pharmacy, information on the space occupied by the pharmacy, information on pharmacy employees, financial information related to the operation of the pharmacy, and information on pharmaceutical suppliers doing business with the pharmacy. In addition, various types of information may be further included depending on the embodiment.

[0138] The location information of a pharmacy may include information such as geographical location, age and number of nearby residents, income of nearby residents, and tendencies of nearby residents. Information on medical facilities located near the pharmacy may include information on the type and number of nearby medical facilities, and in some embodiments, may further include information on frequently prescribed drugs at the medical facilities and requirements of the medical facilities. Information on the space occupied by the pharmacy may include information on the internal structure, and in some embodiments, an electronic device (110) that has acquired an image of the pharmacy may analyze the image to determine the internal structure. Information on pharmacy employees may include information such as the number of pharmacy employees, their ages, and length of employment. Information on pharmaceutical suppliers that do business with the pharmacy may be understood as a broad concept including pharmaceutical manufacturers (and producers), specialized sales companies commissioned by manufacturers (and specialized sellers commissioned by manufacturers), and pharmaceutical wholesalers, and may include vendors that use the vendor terminal (130).

[0139] In some embodiments, the electronic device (110) may provide a function for setting one or more of a threshold quantity and an appropriate stock quantity. For example, the electronic device (110) may configure and display a user interface for setting one or more of a threshold quantity and an appropriate stock quantity, and, if there is a corresponding user input, may set one or more of the threshold quantity and the appropriate stock quantity based on the input.

[0140] In some embodiments, the electronic device (110) may order the amount of medicine provided to the customer after providing the medicine to the customer.

[0141] Meanwhile, in relation to the operation of drawing number 207, if there are multiple pharmaceutical suppliers transacting with the pharmacy, it may be problematic as to which pharmaceutical supplier the electronic device (110) determines as the vendor from which to order the pharmaceutical. In relation to this, an example of how the electronic device (110) determines the vendor according to one embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 8. Referring further to FIG. 8, the electronic device (110) may determine, for at least some suppliers, one or more of the following: whether the supplier can provide the pharmaceutical (801), the expected arrival time when ordering the pharmaceutical from the supplier (802), the price of the pharmaceutical offered by the supplier and separate benefits related to the purchase of the pharmaceutical (803), and the priority set for the supplier (804), and may determine the vendor from which to order the pharmaceutical based on the determination. In relation to this, the electronic device (110) according to one embodiment may also determine an appropriate expected arrival time and an appropriate pharmaceutical price by taking into consideration various information such as financial information related to the operation of the pharmacy and information on the results of predictions of future demand.

[0142] In addition, if there is no supplier among the pharmaceutical suppliers that the pharmacy deals with who can supply the pharmaceutical by the required time, the electronic device (110) may inquire about the availability of supply from other pharmaceutical suppliers that the pharmacy does not deal with, or may determine whether supply is possible by the required time when ordering another candidate pharmaceutical (e.g., a pharmaceutical with the same ingredients or a pharmaceutical with the same efficacy, etc.), and there may be various embodiments related to the solution.

[0143] In relation to the above-described embodiments, for convenience of explanation, the case where the electronic device (110) sets the appropriate stock quantity of medicines “for each one or more stock groups” has been described, but it should be understood that the case where the electronic device (110) sets the total stock quantity of medicines stored in a pharmacy may also fall within the scope of the present disclosure, and the above-described descriptions may also be applied in such a case.

[0144] Meanwhile, for the convenience of explanation, the case where the operation of drawing number 207 for ordering medicine is performed after the operation of drawing number 206 for updating information of one or more inventory groups is described, but the operation of drawing number 207 does not necessarily have to be performed after updating inventory group information or after providing medicine. For example, the electronic device (110) can manage the inventory quantity in real time or at regular intervals even if no special event occurs, and if it is determined that the inventory of medicine is insufficient as a result of such inventory quantity management, the medicine can be ordered.

[0145] Figure 9 is an exemplary diagram of the configuration of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0146] Referring to FIG. 9, the electronic device (110) includes a transceiver (910), a processor (920), and a memory (930). The electronic device (110) can be connected to a customer's terminal (120), a vendor's terminal (130), and other external devices through the transceiver (910), and exchange data.

[0147] The processor (920) may include at least one of the devices described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8, or may perform at least one method described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. The memory (930) may store information for performing at least one method described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. The memory (930) may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory.

[0148] The processor (920) can execute a program and control an electronic device (110) to provide information. The code of the program executed by the processor (920) can be stored in the memory (930).

[0149] Additionally, the electronic device (110) of one embodiment may further include an interface capable of providing information to the user.

[0150] Meanwhile, the present specification and drawings disclose preferred embodiments of the present invention. Although specific terms have been used, they are used in a general sense only to easily explain the technical contents of the present invention and to assist in understanding the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modified examples based on the technical concept of the present invention are possible in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0151] The recommendation server, electronic device or terminal according to the above-described embodiments may include a processor, a memory for storing and executing program data, permanent storage such as a disk drive, a communication port for communicating with an external device, a user interface device such as a touch panel, a key, a button, etc. The methods implemented as software modules or algorithms may be stored on a computer-readable recording medium as computer-readable codes or program instructions executable on the processor. Here, the computer-readable recording medium includes a magnetic storage medium (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and an optical reading medium (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD: Digital Versatile Disc)). The computer-readable recording medium may be distributed to computer systems connected to a network, so that the computer-readable code may be stored and executed in a distributed manner. The medium may be readable by a computer, stored in a memory, and executed on a processor.

[0152] The present embodiment may be represented by functional block configurations and various processing steps. These functional blocks may be implemented by various hardware and / or software configurations that perform specific functions. For example, the embodiment may employ integrated circuit configurations such as memory, processing, logic, look-up tables, etc., which may perform various functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the present embodiment may be implemented in a programming or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, assembler, Python, etc., including various algorithms implemented as a combination of data structures, processes, routines, or other programming configurations. Functional aspects may be implemented as algorithms that execute on one or more processors. Furthermore, the present embodiment may employ conventional techniques for electronic configuration, signal processing, and / or data processing. Terms such as "mechanism," "element," "means," and "composition" can be used broadly and are not limited to mechanical or physical structures. These terms can also encompass a series of software routines, such as those associated with a processor.

[0153] The above-described embodiments are merely examples, and other embodiments may be implemented within the scope of the claims set forth below.

Claims

1. In a method of processing information in an electronic device, A step of obtaining information on medical procedures performed on a customer; A step of confirming the medicine to be provided to the customer and the quantity thereof based on the information on the above medical practice; A step of obtaining one or more background information for providing the pharmaceutical product to the customer; A step of obtaining information on one or more inventory groups related to the above medicines being stored in a pharmacy; A step of determining the quantity of the medicine to be shipped for at least one group of the one or more inventory groups based on the one or more background information and the information of the one or more inventory groups; and A method of processing information, comprising the step of updating information of one or more inventory groups based on the above determination.

2. In paragraph 1, The step of obtaining information on one or more of the above inventory groups is A step of verifying one or more code information associated with the above pharmaceutical product; and A method for processing information, characterized in that it comprises a step of identifying an inventory group mapped to one or more pieces of code information.

3. In paragraph 2, The above code information is General code information corresponding to the product name of the above medicine and Detailed code information corresponding to the storage unit of the above medicine A method for processing information, characterized in that it includes one or more of:

4. In paragraph 3, A method for processing information, characterized in that the above detailed code information is related to the packaging method of the pharmaceutical product.

5. In paragraph 1, The step of determining the quantity of the above medicine to be exported is A method for processing information, characterized in that it comprises a step of determining a packaging method of the pharmaceutical product to be provided to the customer.

6. In paragraph 5, The step of determining the packaging method of the above medicine to be provided to the above customer is A step of verifying historical information related to the manner in which the medicine was provided to one or more other customers; and A method for processing information, characterized in that it comprises a step of determining an optimal packaging method for the pharmaceutical product to be provided to the customer based on the above-mentioned historical information.

7. In paragraph 6, A method for processing information, characterized in that the electronic device determines the optimal packaging method for the pharmaceutical product to be provided to the customer based on artificial intelligence technology.

8. In paragraph 7, A method for processing information, characterized in that the above artificial intelligence technology includes at least one of a technology based on machine learning and a deep learning technology using an artificial neural network.

9. In paragraph 6, The steps to check the above history information are A step of acquiring at least one of computerized data of a prescription computerization program and screen printing data of the prescription computerization program; and A step of acquiring at least one of data related to the operation of an ATC (Automatic Tablet Counting and Dispensing) program and screen printing data of the ATC program. A method for processing information, characterized in that it includes one or more of:

10. In paragraph 9, In order to verify the above history information, when obtaining at least one of the screen printing data of the above prescription computer program and the screen printing data of the above ATC program, The steps to check the above history information are A method for processing information, characterized in that it further comprises a step of confirming how the medicine was provided to the one or more other customers by performing image processing on the acquired screen printing information.

11. In paragraph 1, One or more of the above background information Information on the method of provision indicated by the information on the above medical practice, Information on the basic provision method for the above medicines; Information on the properties related to the storage of the above medicines, Attribute information related to the handling of the above medicine, Information on the properties of the above medicines, Information on properties related to interactions between the above medicine and other medicines, and Information on the packaging method preferred by the above customer A method for processing information, characterized in that it includes one or more of:

12. In paragraph 11, The step of obtaining one or more of the above background information is A step of checking the memo information corresponding to the above medical act; and A method for processing information, characterized in that it includes a step of confirming information on a provision method indicated by information on the medical practice based on the result of natural language processing on the memo information.

13. In paragraph 11, The step of obtaining one or more of the above background information is A step of checking the memo information corresponding to the above customer; and A method for processing information, characterized in that it includes a step of confirming information on the packaging method preferred by the customer based on the result of natural language processing of the memo information.

14. In paragraph 11, The step of obtaining one or more of the above background information is A step of checking prescription history information corresponding to the above customer; and A method for processing information, characterized in that it includes a step of confirming information on the packaging method preferred by the customer based on the above prescription history information.

15. In paragraph 1, The step of confirming the medicine to be provided to the above customer and the quantity to be provided is A step for confirming the medicine indicated by the information on the above medical practice; A step of obtaining information on the quantity of stock stored in the pharmacy for the medicine indicated by the information on the above medical practice; and A method for processing information, characterized in that it comprises a step of determining a medicine indicated by the information of the medical practice as a medicine to be provided to the customer if the stock quantity is sufficient to provide to the customer.

16. In paragraph 15, The step to check the medicine indicated by the information on the above medical practice is A step of confirming which disease classification group the above customer's disease belongs to based on disease classification criteria; and A step of confirming which drug classification group the medicine indicated by the information on the above medical practice belongs to based on the above disease classification criteria. A method for processing information, characterized in that it includes one or more of:

17. In paragraph 16, A method for processing information, characterized in that the electronic device determines which pharmaceutical classification group the pharmaceutical indicated by the information on the medical practice belongs to based on artificial intelligence technology.

18. In paragraph 17, A method for processing information, characterized in that the artificial intelligence technology includes at least one of a technology based on machine learning and a deep learning technology using an artificial neural network.

19. In paragraph 15, The step of confirming the medicine to be provided to the above customer and the quantity to be provided is If the above inventory quantity is not sufficient to provide to the customer, a step of identifying one or more candidate drugs based on the information of the medical practice; A step of obtaining information on the quantity of stock stored in the pharmacy for at least some of the one or more candidate drugs; and A method for processing information, characterized in that it further comprises a step of determining a medicine to be provided to the customer from among the one or more candidate medicines based on information on the stock quantity of at least some of the one or more candidate medicines.

20. In paragraph 19, The step of determining which drug to provide to the customer among the one or more candidate drugs is A step of determining a priority for providing at least some of the one or more candidate drugs to the customer, The priority of one or more of the above candidate drugs is Whether the above medical practice information is a medicine produced by a pharmaceutical company corresponding to the specific medicine indicated, Whether the drug has the same detailed code as the detailed code of the specific drug mentioned above, Whether the drug has the same detailed code as the candidate drug with the highest priority; Whether the medicine has the same ingredients as the specific medicine mentioned above, Whether the drug is judged to have the same efficacy as the specific drug mentioned above, Whether the above customer has agreed to receive the medicine and Whether the above customer has refused to receive the medicine A method for processing information, characterized in that it is set based on one or more of the following.

21. In paragraph 20, Whether the above specific medicine has the same ingredients as the medicine A method for processing information, characterized in that it includes whether the drug is recognized as equivalent to the specific drug as a result of a bioequivalence test.

22. In paragraph 1, After providing the medicine to the customer, a step of checking the stock quantity of the medicine corresponding to each of the one or more stock groups; and A method for processing information, characterized in that it further comprises a step of ordering the medicine when the stock quantity is less than a set threshold quantity.

23. In paragraph 22, The above electronic device A method for processing information, characterized in that the amount of the medicine is ordered corresponding to the difference between the appropriate stock quantity of the medicine set for each of the one or more stock groups and the stock quantity of the medicine corresponding to each of the one or more stock groups.

24. In paragraph 23, A step of obtaining historical information related to the provision of the above medicine; A step of predicting the demand for the pharmaceutical based on the above historical information and associating it with the method of providing the pharmaceutical; and A method for processing information, characterized in that it further includes a step of setting an appropriate inventory quantity of the pharmaceutical product for each of the one or more inventory groups based on the result of predicting the demand.

25. In paragraph 23, A step of obtaining one or more environmental information related to the above pharmacy; and Further comprising a step of setting an appropriate stock quantity of the pharmaceutical product based on the one or more environmental information, One or more of the above environmental information Location information of the above pharmacy, Information on the opening days of the above pharmacy, Information on medical facilities located near the above pharmacy, Information on the space occupied by the above pharmacy, Information on employees at the above pharmacy, Financial information related to the operation of the above pharmacy, and Information on pharmaceutical suppliers that do business with the above pharmacy; A method for processing information, characterized in that it includes one or more of:

26. In paragraph 23, A method for processing information, characterized in that it further comprises a step of providing a function for setting at least one of the above threshold quantity and the above appropriate stock quantity.

27. In paragraph 1, A method for processing information, characterized in that, after providing the medicine to the customer, it further includes a step of ordering the medicine in the quantity provided to the customer.

28. In paragraph 1, The step of obtaining information on one or more of the above inventory groups is A step of acquiring image information of the above pharmacy; and A method for processing information, characterized in that it comprises a step of identifying one or more stock groups based on the image information.

29. In paragraph 28, The step of identifying one or more of the above inventory groups is A method for processing information, characterized in that it comprises a step of checking the quantity of a pharmaceutical product belonging to one or more of the above inventory groups.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of paragraph 1 on a computer.

31. In an electronic device that processes information, Includes a memory and a processor that stores instructions, The above processor is connected to the above memory, Obtain information on medical procedures performed on customers, Based on the information on the above medical practice, confirm the medicine to be provided to the customer and the quantity thereof to be provided, Obtain one or more background information to provide the above medicine to the above customer, Obtain information on one or more inventory groups related to the above medicines being stored in a pharmacy, Based on the one or more background information and the information of the one or more inventory groups, determining the quantity of the medicine to be shipped for at least one group of the one or more inventory groups; An electronic device that updates information of one or more inventory groups based on the above determination.

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